Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 6-3 in the Monte Carlo Masters final, securing his fourth consecutive Masters 1000 title and reclaiming the top spot in the world rankings. The match was complicated by challenging wind conditions.
Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images
Alcaraz found it difficult to stop Sinner, who captured his fourth straight Masters 1000 title.
Sinnerās 7-6, 6-3 win over Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters final not only extended his winning run but also moved him back into the top spot of the world rankings.
Conditions were tough throughout the match. Winds made life hard for both players, something Andy Murray picked up on during his commentary.
Serving was an issue for both players. Neither managed to reach a 60 per cent success rate on their first serve.
And while Sinner is known more for his groundstrokes than his serve, he still held a clear edge in this area. This didnāt go unnoticed by Rennae Stubbs, the former world number one in doubles, who took specific aim at Alcarazās serve.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Over the past few months, Alcaraz has made changes to his serve, which have led to comparisons with Novak Djokovic.
Early signs were positive, particularly during his run to the Australian Open title. But Rennae Stubbs doesnāt think heās quite on par with Sinner yet.
āI feel like heās (Sinner) hitting the ball a little bit bigger,ā Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. āI feel like Carlosā serve is not doing enough damage.
āI know that he changed his serve at the start of the year, but you have to think maybe. He doesnāt quite have the same pop as Jannik.
Stubbs added: āClearly, Jannik, you know, has just a little bit more firepower, not only in the serve butā the forehand. He was just crushing balls all over the place and taking advantage of certain things.ā
Jannik Sinner won the final against Carlos Alcaraz with a score of 7-6, 6-3.
Jannik Sinner has won four consecutive Masters 1000 titles.
Carlos Alcaraz found it difficult to perform due to challenging wind conditions during the match.
Sinner's victory moved him back into the top spot of the ATP world rankings.
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Alcaraz did have more aces than Sinner during their Monte Carlo meeting ā three to zero ā although he won a lower percentage of points on both first and second serves.
Stubbs also questioned Alcarazās use of the drop shot against Sinner, noting the Spaniardās poor execution in key moments.
āAnd the interesting thing is the variety that Carlos Alcaraz possesses, which makes him so good on clay and grass and all these sorts of things and natural surfaces because you do have to come up with someā¦ a little bit more ingenuity, a little bit more sort of crafty stuff,ā Stubbs began.
āIt usually helps Carlos, but having said that, the dude kind of messed up with the drop shots. He just made bad choices on when to use them. They werenāt effective.ā
āAnd as good as the drop shot is on occasion, oh my God, (when) he hits the forehand drop shot, itās just like out of this world how good it is, and you have to be able to hit that shot on any surface really.
āBut particularly on clay, because when players get so far behind the baseline, you know, itās hard to hit through them, right?
āAnd itās very hard to hit through someone like Jannik because heās so good at moving from the back of the court. He slides really well. He, of course, can turn defence into offence so easily, so quickly.
āBut Carlos kind ofā¦ there were some drop shots that got him into trouble.
āThere was one, I believe it was two all in the first set tie break, (he) chose to hit the drop shot, did not hit a good one. Jannik runs up, wins the point, gets a mini break and then runs away with it.ā
Sinner is unbeaten in 25 matches this year and has only lost one match since November 2023.
The Italian now holds a dominant 6-1 record over Alcaraz in their head-to-head encounters.
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